Last week, America’s troops spoke and their message was clear: They are not getting the support they need from the Bush administration. In a question-and-answer session with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, rank-and-file soldiers told Rumsfeld they needed — but weren’t getting — armored vehicles, modern equipment, and adequate supplies. Rumsfeld’s responses were disgracefully insensitive […]
Posted inMusic, Music Features
Local Record Roundup
With the year winding down, let’s check in on some of the more notable recent local releases: Hola Day — The Carlos Ecos Band (Young Ave. Records): Recent participants in the Mid-South Grammy Showcase, the bluesy rock trio the Carlos Ecos Band show off an eclectic sound on their six-song debut EP. The anthemic “Sing” […]
Posted inFilm Features, Film/TV
To Each His Own
I adored Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven when it came out three years ago and love it even more now that its cable-TV ubiquity has made it a constant channel-surfing Christmas present. Despite the great cast, it could have easily been unwatchable in the hands of a typical Hollywood director-for-hire, but Soderbergh’s exquisite editing and subtle […]
Posted inWe Recommend, We Recommend
Material Man
Artists Melissa Dunn and Hamlett Dobbins are trying something a little new and a little crazy. Dobbins is working to convert the front room of his home and studio — a space that he shares with his expectant wife and 2-year-old daughter — into an art gallery. Dunn, the first artist to exhibit at Material, […]
Posted inWe Recommend, We Recommend
We Recommend
Tim Sampson is out this week. We Recommend returns when he does.
Posted inCover Feature, News
Dying to Fit In
The scene was right out of a mentoring organization’s handbook: six black professional men conferring with six black inner-city boys. All of the boys, leaned forward in their seats, listening attentively as the men discussed the boys’ school lives, their friends, and their futures. But the men were not mentors, they were lawyers. And the […]
Posted inNews, The Fly-By
Printing Problems
Five new charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board against the Covington and Olive Branch plants of Quebecor World, a commercial printing company with facilities through North America. The charges were filed by supporters of the Graphic Communications International Union (GCIU), who claim they are facing harassment while trying to organize unions […]
Posted inOpinion, Viewpoint
[City Beat] Fire and Ice at East
Watch out, White Station High School and Central High School. An old rival is out to “humble” you and regain its long-lost place as one of the best schools in Memphis. The school is East High School, and the twin driving forces behind a new push to improve it are Principal Barbara King and Class […]
Posted inPolitics, Politics Beat Blog
A Runoff Rundown
As this edition of the Flyer was getting ready for press, voters were heading to the polls to determine whether incumbent school board member Hubon “Dutch” Sandridge or his runoff opponent, Tomeka Hart, would represent District 7 on the Memphis school board for the next four years. Hart came within a hair of winning outright […]
Posted inMusic, Record Reviews
Short Cuts :: Record Reviews
How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb U2 (Interscope) What’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding, U2 want to know. On their 11th album, the Irish quartet play unabashedly anthemic crowd-pleasers full of lofty ideas and romantic notions. They’ve been alternately dismissed as naive and praised as peacekeepers, and How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb […]
Posted inSports, Sports Feature
Point-Counterpoint
With a disappointing 6-12 record heading into Tuesday night’s game with the New York Knicks, the Memphis Grizzlies have a lot of decisions to make about their future. And those decisions start at point-guard, where backup Earl Watson is looking ahead to free-agency and is sure to demand a starting role (and commensurate contract). Do […]